Originally Posted by
Widgets
It was a broken fare with Q on the return but his particular segment was K. That might change things.
Having different fare classes on outbound and return doesn't mean it's a broken fare. For example, see this RT fare:
Fare 1: Carrier DL KRVQA0MA ATL to MSP (rules)
Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code K
Covers ATL-MSP (Economy)
$239.07
Fare 2: Carrier DL URVUA0MA MSP to ATL (rules)
Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code U
Covers MSP-ATL (Economy)
$192.56
ATL DL MSP 239.07KRVQA0MA DL ATL 192.56URVUA0MA USD 431.63 END ZP ATL MSP XT 32.37US 8.00ZP 11.20AY 9.00XF ATL4.50 MSP4.50
Regardless, upgrade priority is determined by the fare class of a particular segment. Fare classes of other segments on the itinerary are not relevant.